Method for operating a self-propelled vehicle, and control system for performing such a method

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for operating a self-propelled motor vehicle having a plurality of control units and a plurality of program codes for controlling the function of autonomous driving and possibly other functions of the self-propelled vehicle, wherein a plurality of program codes used for an autonomous driving mode are redundantly applied to at least two different control units. In doing so, the self-propelled motor vehicle is operated in an at least partially autonomous driving mode. In this mode, the functions directly needed to satisfy the passenger's wishes are ascertained and weighted corresponding to their relevance for satisfying the passenger's wishes. In so doing, the functions, or the scope of functions, are released depending on the achievement of a target achievement level.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. A method for operating a self-propelled motor vehicle with a control system with a plurality of control units, the control system being configured with a plurality of functions, comprising at least functions of autonomous driving, and with multiple target achievement levels for different driving modes, wherein for each target achievement level, a minimum required number of redundancies is defined for the plurality of functions; wherein not two redundancies of a given function are executed by one control unit of the plurality of control units; the method comprising:
 operating the self-propelled motor vehicle in an at least partially autonomous current driving mode; 
 determining a necessary target achievement level for the current driving mode; 
 determining, whether the control system can be operated in the necessary target achievement level based on the minimum required number of redundancies for each of the plurality of functions; 
 in case it is determined that the control system cannot be operated in the necessary target achievement level, bringing the motor vehicle to a standstill. 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , comprising: before bringing the motor vehicle to a standstill, conducting a restoration process, aiming to restore the minimum required number of redundancies for each of the plurality of functions based on the necessary target achievement level for the current driving mode. 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 2 , wherein the restoration process comprises determining, whether it is possible to start one or more redundancies of at least a first function of the plurality of functions while maintaining that not two redundancies of a given function are executed by the one control unit. 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 3 , comprising, in case it is possible to start the one or more redundancies of the first function:
 starting the one or more redundancies; 
 determining, that the control unit can be operated in the necessary target achievement level; and 
 operating the self-propelled motor vehicle in the at least partially autonomous current driving mode. 
 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 3 , comprising, in case it is not possible to start the one or more redundancies of the first function:
 determining, that the control unit cannot be operated in the necessary target achievement level; and 
 bringing the motor vehicle to a standstill. 
 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the necessary target achievement level for the current driving mode depends on the driving speed of the motor vehicle. 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 6 , wherein the minimum required number of redundancies increases with the increasing driving speed of the motor vehicle. 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 1 , wherein all of the plurality of functions are enabled when the control system operates in a maximum target achievement level of the plurality of target achievement levels resulting in a maximum functional performance of the motor vehicle. 
     
     
       9. The method of  claim 8 , wherein the maximum target achievement level is achieved in an initial state of the control system. 
     
     
       10. The method of  claim 1 , comprising: shutting off one or more of the plurality of control units in which no functions are currently being executed to increase an energy efficiency of the control system. 
     
     
       11. The method of  claim 1 , comprising:
 optimizing use of the plurality of control units by the plurality of functions based on the minimum required number of redundancies of the necessary target achievement level for the current driving mode, so that a maximum number of control units result in which no functions are currently being executed; and 
 shutting off the control units in which no functions are currently being executed to increase an energy efficiency of the control system. 
 
     
     
       12. A control system comprising a plurality of control units, wherein the control system is configured to perform the method of  claim 1  when a plurality of machine-readable program codes are executed by at least two control units of the control system. 
     
     
       13. A motor vehicle having a control system configured to perform the method of  claim 1 . 
     
     
       14. A non-transitory medium comprising a computer program with a program code for performing the steps of the method of  claim 1  when the program code is executed on a computer or control unit.